Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas! We usually wait until later in the season to put the tree up but because the girls are so excited this year we decided to just go ahead and do it.

A number of years ago I was given the star that used to be on top of my grandparents tree because they have a special memory. I was born in December and they were doing the tree when my father called them to tell them I was born. They were putting the star on top. As I grew up it became my job to put the star on top of the tree and it still is. This what is left of a very old Christmas Star.


I created this star before I received the other star. It is pretty simple - squished up aluminum foil arranged with a rose. Sometimes I even slip a little tree light into the middle. It pairs up very nicely with the other star - one on each side.

This little bell has been on the tree for many years and makes the loveliest little tinkling sound.

This doll from India is from my California days when I would have a little Christmas Open House and Tree Decorating gathering. A dear friend from India contributed this beautiful ornament. My grandparents traveled the world and brought back ornaments from all over. This became a first non-grandparent international ornament.

I went through a Teddy Bear phase in my youth. This bear above is a remnant of those days and always sits just below the stars on the tree.

We have several birds on the tree. The peacock ornament is a recent addition and often gets lost on the tree because the green/green-blue is so close to the color of the tree. This year I decided to put it near the top of the tree so we would notice the silhouette. There is also an amazing wood bird, and several origami cranes.

The angel above used to be on my grandparents tree. When my grandmother died a few years ago we six cousins and our parents equitably divided up their Christmas tree ornaments. Each of us took turns and selected ornaments that meant something to us.
The snowman is a recent addition from B.s Girls Scout troop ornament exchange.

This crystal snowman was this year's addition from the Girls Scout ornament exchange.

This little manger ornament is a miracle in that we haven't lost the baby. Every year it goes on the tree and the baby repeatedly falls out and we repeatedly find it and put it back in.

A favorite theme of ours in China. Not long after we returned from China with J. an internet group of moms who had adopted from China, had an ornament exchange. The next few ornaments are some of those gifts.

Dragon

Porcelein doodad.

Cloisonne panda

Cloisonne teapot

Chinese Minority dolls

Unknown knitted doll and cloisonne ball with poinsettia.

This little Santa Claus still works. I remember it being at my grandparents house when I was much younger. It plays various Christmas carols and rings a bell.

This was a prize my Mom found at a second hand store. It also plays music.

Here is the completed tree with some early presents under it courtesy of B. who has been busy creating presents from recyclables and other things. Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christ filled Christmas!

Ice Cream

We've been working our way through a fun book about the Periodic Table called "Fizz, Bubble & Flash" by Anita Brandolini which explores elements and atoms in a hands on way. The first section is on Hydrogen and the Alkali Metals family which is what leads to ice cream. Sodium and its relatives in the Alkali Metal families are highly reactive to water and/or air. We checked out some fun and interesting videos showing what happens when bare alkali metals are exposed to air and water.

The first thing we did was to mix up a simple ice cream mix. 1/2 heavy cream, 1/2 milk, a little sugar and a little vanilla - seal in a bag. This bag is placed in a larger plastic bag with ice. Shake for about 10 to 15 minutes and observe that the ice cream mix is colder but not ice cream.

Next add salt to the ice and start shaking again. Shake for about 10 to 15 minutes. It is definitely colder - using an oven mitt or a kitchen towel helped. Also the bag had a lot more condensation on it. In short order we had ice cream!

Yum!

A close up on the ice cream in the baggie.

To further demonstrate the effect of salt on water we had also frozen plain water and salt water. It took a lot longer to freeze the salt water. Salt (sodium chloride) lowers the freezing point of water. In fact it didn't quite freeze all the way. Also the salted water was blue. As I was browsing around the the book I noticed that it said that Iodine usually evaporated. My guess is that the iodine was trapped in the frozen salted water. When we thawed the water out the blue color remained but was gone the next day.

G.s trip to Florida

G. went south to Florida for Thanksgiving and visited his Grandad B (my Dad). He took J. and A. with him.

The travelled to the other side of Florida to see G.s Dad (my brother) and spent some time at the beach. This is J. A. and G at the beach. It was actually on the chilly side for Florida.

Here is my brother R. with his grandchildren J. and A.

J. and R. go fishing at the lake near R's house.

G. A. R and R at R & R's house. J. is taking the photograph.

Food from the Philippines

The photo doesn't nearly do it justice. This is basically chocolate rice pudding made with glutenous rice flour, sugar and chocolate. It is supposed to be a favorite breakfast food. It tasted good with a little extra milk. History-wise we learned about the Spanish-American War.

I also fried a ripe plantain something commonly eaten in Cuba but forgot to take photographs. The fried platanos reminded me of my time in Venezuela.

NRV Gymnastics - Sensory Group

B. & J. have been participating in a Sensory Group - this group is especially for kids who have sensory issues like those who avoid normal sensory input or who seek more then normal sensory input. They usually do activities that focus on each one of the senses - hearing, seeing, tasting, touching, smelling, and vestibular (where you are in space). The closing activity included bouncing all around the facilities at NRV Gymnastics.

The amazing foam pit must have an interesting collection of socks etc. at the bottom. I jumped in and had to maneuver myself to a mat so I could get out. I noticed that as I stepped in to get some leverage, the foam seemed to wrap around my socks and want to keep them as I stepped out. I feared for my cell phone, which was in my pocket - but we emerged unscathed.

J. on the trampoline. Don't you just love J's unmatched socks - she, her sister and some friends seem to have made mis-matched socks an art form.

Famiy Tree - Family Home Evening

I found a wonderful photograph of my parent's wedding and was able to get the faces of most of my great grandparents, all my grandparents and both my parents - all on the same day and in the same place. I added more photographs and there was a fun Family Tree activity. Each us made one. Mine is above.

B.s family tree

J.s family tree. They are now all posted on our doors for the time being.

Halloween Candy Count

A week or so after Halloween I had the girls sort out their Halloween candy and count it. All together they had around 300 pieces of candy and about 40+ different kinds.

It was also the day to wean it down to 50 pieces each!